Spent Coffee Grounds-Infused Weed Barrier Mat and Method of Manufacturing Thereof

Abstract

A novel spent coffee grounds (SPG)-infused weed barrier mat and a method of manufacturing the novel mat are disclosed. Compared to conventional methods of weed growth inhibitions using chemicals or paper mulches, the SPG-infused weed barrier mat is more durable, hydro-absorbent, and easily-divisible to protect and promote a garden's aesthetics, soil quality, and ecosystem, while acting as an effective smothering barrier against weed growth. Preferably, the SPG-infused weed barrier mat is formed by a plurality of detachable single modular mat units of standardized dimensions to accommodate dynamic and scalable sizing of the effective weed barrier mat area based on a user's particular gardening needs and requirements. Each single modular mat unit can be attached to or detached from each other to constitute a tiled arrangement of varying sizes. The SPG may be finely-milled coffee flours further processed from coarser SCGs for enhanced durability and maintenance of weed barrier mat-producing equipment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for producing a spent coffee grounds (SCG)-infused modular weed barrier mat, the method comprising the steps of:
 acquiring a bundle of recycled paper with minimal or no glue residues and other sticky substances;   shredding the bundle of recycled paper to produce shredded papers;   hydrating the shredded papers to absorb water to produce hydrated and shredded papers;   agitating the hydrated and shredded papers to isolate and raise sticky and inky substances to a top surface, which in turn forms a top impurities layer from the hydrated and shredded papers;   removing the top impurities layer from the hydrated and shredded papers;   producing a pulp from the hydrated and shredded papers after removing the top impurities layer;   adding non-molded spent coffee grounds (SCG) to the pulp to produce a fresh SCG-infused pulp;   placing the fresh SCG-infused pulp on a rolling screen and extracting water and moisture from the fresh SCG-infused pulp;   dehydrating the fresh SCG-infused pulp by air drying or another dehydration process to produce a sheet of the fresh SCG-infused pulp;   flattening the sheet to a desirable thickness and cut to produce a flattened sheet of the fresh SCG-infused pulp; and   packaging the flattened sheet in modularly-attachable dimensions as the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the non-molded spent coffee grounds (SCG) are finely-milled coffee flours that are further processed from coarser SCGs for enhanced durability and maintenance of weed barrier mat-producing equipment. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of flattening the sheet and the step of packaging the flattened sheet in modularly-attachable dimensions as the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat involve forming adjacent module docking notches in corners or edges of the flattened sheet, wherein the adjacent module docking notches of the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat are configured to dock into or detach from other adjacent module docking notches belonging to a second SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of flattening the sheet and the step of packaging the flattened sheet in modularly-attachable dimensions as the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat involve forming a plurality of nodules in the flattened sheet that provides structural strength and spaces to hold moisture or rainwater in the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the flattened sheet in modularly-attachable dimensions as the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat constitutes a single modular mat unit, which is configured to be attached to or detached from other modular mat units to form a tiled arrangement of SCG-infused modular weed barrier mats. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the tiled arrangement of the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mats provides a scalable sizing of an effective weed barrier mat area based on a user's particular gardening needs and requirements. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bundle of recycled paper includes newsprints, slick pieces of mailers, light cardboards, or other recycled cellulose materials. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the modularly-attachable dimensions of the flattened sheet are standardized unit sizes of rectangles or squares. 
     
     
         9 . A spent coffee grounds (SCG)-infused modular weed barrier mat comprising:
 a bundle of recycled paper with minimal or no glue residues and other sticky substances, wherein the bundle of recycled paper is transformed into a pulp after shredding, hydration, and removal of a top impurities layer; and   non-molded spent coffee grounds (SCG) added to the pulp to form a fresh SCG-infused pulp, which is subsequently placed on a rolling screen, dehydrated, flattened, and cut to be transformed into a flattened sheet of the fresh SCG-infused pulp, wherein the flattened sheet is then packaged in modularly-attachable dimensions as a SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat.   
     
     
         10 . The spent coffee grounds (SCG)-infused modular weed barrier mat of  claim 9 , further comprising adjacent module docking notches in corners or edges of the flattened sheet, wherein the adjacent module docking notches of the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat are configured to dock into or detach from other adjacent module docking notches belonging to a second SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat. 
     
     
         11 . The spent coffee grounds (SCG)-infused modular weed barrier mat of  claim 9 , further comprising a plurality of nodules in the flattened sheet that provides structural strength and spaces to hold moisture or rainwater in the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat. 
     
     
         12 . The spent coffee grounds (SCG)-infused modular weed barrier mat of  claim 9 , wherein the non-molded spent coffee grounds (SCG) are finely-milled coffee flours that are further processed from coarser SCGs for enhanced durability and maintenance of weed barrier mat-producing equipment. 
     
     
         13 . The spent coffee grounds (SCG)-infused modular weed barrier mat of  claim 9 , wherein the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mat constitutes a single modular mat unit, which is configured to be attached to or detached from other modular mat units to form a tiled arrangement of SCG-infused modular weed barrier mats. 
     
     
         14 . The spent coffee grounds (SCG)-infused modular weed barrier mat of  claim 13 , wherein the tiled arrangement of the SCG-infused modular weed barrier mats provides a scalable sizing of an effective weed barrier mat area based on a user's particular gardening needs and requirements. 
     
     
         15 . The spent coffee grounds (SCG)-infused modular weed barrier mat of  claim 9 , wherein the bundle of recycled paper includes newsprints, slick pieces of mailers, light cardboards, or other recycled cellulose materials. 
     
     
         16 . The spent coffee grounds (SCG)-infused modular weed barrier mat of  claim 9 , wherein the modularly-attachable dimensions of the flattened sheet are standardized unit sizes of rectangles or squares.